As the demand on digital equipment increases, the need for highly reliable, low-power, and fast memory modules also increases. Since much of the data handled by a digital device passes through memory modules, the memory module' reliability, power consumption, and speed are of utmost importance in the efficient operation of digital systems.
The need for reliable and quick memory modules is especially apparent in portable devices. In particular, portable devices rely on battery power and require relatively lower power consumption rates compared with, for example, desktop systems. Also, since portable devices are used in different setting and are moved around, reliability is very important in their memory systems. Moreover, faster memory modules are of importance in portable devices since, for example, due to space considerations, fewer memory modules may be utilized in a portable device to implement various functions that may be performed by specialized memory modules utilized in a desktop system.